On top of some of his decisions rubbing me wrong, I am very unhappy with how my guy Barry has seemingly pissed away an opportunity to shine in his response to the oil spill. The way I feel right this second, I can't say I would vote for him in 2012. So riddle me this-
who do you believe could be running against hIm that is worth considering and why?
Note: I don't consider myself a democrat or a republican so no one is off limits due to party affiliation or lack thereof.
Replies
303Beach Crab
Let's Oust Him
Obama has done a terrible job with the spill. Not to mention his politics as usual tactics after he promised a transparent government. Obama Care will cause our ER's to become a doc in a box and who will pay?
Any American that still has a job who isn't waiting for their food stamps and govenrnment checks to arrive.
Obama has done a terrible job with the spill. Not to mention his politics as usual tactics after he promised a transparent government. Obama Care will cause our ER's to become a doc in a box and who will pay?
Any American that still has a job who isn't waiting for their food stamps and govenrnment checks to arrive.
Beach Fanatic
Obama has done a terrible job with the spill.
That depends on what his goals are.
If his goal is to minimize the damage done by the spill, secure the leak, clean up the mess ASAP and protect the residents of the Gulf, then yes, it is beyond terrible. It is ineptitude at it worst. (Not to mention the fact that his administration accepted the disaster plans of the well and blessed its operation.)
OTOH, if the goal is to use this crisis to promote a carbon-credit agenda of wealth redistribution (ie: carbon taxes designed to move more wealth into a few already rich hands) and to simultaneously discipline a bunch of mostly red states, then the handling is brilliant.
Beach Fanatic
Every time taxes have been lowered this country thrived. Every time. Check out your history if you have the time when you aren't dredging up Bush because you don't have a better reply. Read this and weep.
BREAKING: Wounded Warriors Face New Tax This Independence Day
In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:
First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:
Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family. The ?marriage penalty? (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.
Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave: Obamacare
There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The ?Medicine Cabinet Tax? Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The ?Special Needs Kids Tax? This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they?ll be in for a nasty surprise?the AMT won?t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress? failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families?rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or ?depreciate?) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be ?depreciated.?
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the ?research and experimentation tax credit,? but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual ?required minimum distribution.? This ability will no longer be there.
And the end result is that an already depressed economy will spiral downward to a collapse. Combine these taxes with double energy prices like the liberals want and you have an economic ice age. We are going to reap what the nanny state (big government) has sown.
Banned
Every time taxes have been lowered this country thrived. Every time. Check out your history if you have the time when you aren't dredging up Bush because you don't have a better reply. Read this and weep.
Not when the president is going to start a war or two. During wartime history tells us to raise taxes to pay for it. The bill is coming due with interest.
Beach Fanatic
Not when the president is going to start a war or two. During wartime history tells us to raise taxes to pay for it. The bill is coming due with interest.
This is a good reason to be careful about starting wars and focused on your goals if you do. We should have destroyed the taliban and the terrorist areas and got the h*** out of Afganistan and killed Saddam and left Iraq to itself. Leave building other nations to themselves instead of the American taxpayer. The one thing I agreed with Obama on was getting out of Iraq and he can't even get that right.
SoWal Insider
This is a good reason to be careful about starting wars and focused on your goals if you do. We should have destroyed the taliban and the terrorist areas and got the h*** out of Afganistan and killed Saddam and left Iraq to itself. Leave building other nations to themselves instead of the American taxpayer. The one thing I agreed with Obama on was getting out of Iraq and he can't even get that right.
After Desert Storm, I think a lot of us naturally anticipated swiftness.
Banned
After Desert Storm, I think a lot of us naturally anticipated swiftness.
It could have been very swift if our standard for success had been kick some butt and get out.
Beach Fanatic
Yeah, why can't Obama be more like George W. Bush--just spend money without raising taxes to pay for it?
You my friend have blinders on...or either your head is stuck to far into the sand. Trust me, it is not a flaw to think for yourself and not be totally mind controlled by your political party.
SoWal Insider
Well, since taxes are so evil, let's just eliminate them altogether. Somalia seems to be doing alright without them.
Our nation did just fine without a federal income withholding tax for around 140 years. You need to think outside the box a bit.
Banned
On top of some of his decisions rubbing me wrong, I am very unhappy with how my guy Barry has seemingly pissed away an opportunity to shine in his response to the oil spill. The way I feel right this second, I can't say I would vote for him in 2012. So riddle me this-
who do you believe could be running against hIm that is worth considering and why?
Note: I don't consider myself a democrat or a republican so no one is off limits due to party affiliation or lack thereof.
After all this time I think I finally have the best reason why anyone should be happy that Obama was elected. His election dealt a serious blow to the whole neocon movement. John McCain is certainly a part of that. You know the war mongering nation builders who think the United States can eliminate all evil from the world. The head in the clouds William Crystal types. Those days are gone. That's something even conservative Republicans can rejoice over
Beach Fanatic
After all this time I think I finally have the best reason why anyone should be happy that Obama was elected. His election dealt a serious blow to the whole neocon movement. John McCain is certainly a part of that. You know the war mongering nation builders who think the United States can eliminate all evil from the world. The head in the clouds William Crystal types. Those days are gone. That's something even conservative Republicans can rejoice over
Delusional: an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument.
Beach Fanatic
Delusional: an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument.
Psychological projection: the unconscious act of denial of a person's own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world or to other people.
SoWal Expert
You can bash Obama all you want, but can you truthfully say that you think McCain would do a better job?
I sure as hell don't think he would have and voted accordingly.
I sure as hell don't think he would have and voted accordingly.
Beach Fanatic
You can bash Obama all you want, but can you truthfully say that you think McCain would do a better job?
I sure as hell don't think he would have and voted accordingly.
We won't ever know how McCain would have served as president but I know that he loves this country and Obama loathes it. Obama and his thugs are working diligently tearing down The Constitution, business large and small, and let's don't forget health care, NASA, etc., etc. He's going to tax us into oblivion and will be happy when he's reduced the United States to third world status. Obama practices pitting one group against the other, he practices hate and racism and fear. When you have the populace quivering with fear you can manipulate them. He is a dreadful finger-pointing whiner of a president and the polls show independents, blacks, whites are deserting him in droves.
I can see November from my house.
margarita brocolia
We won't ever know how McCain would have served as president but I know that he loves this country and Obama loathes it. Obama and his thugs are working diligently tearing down The Constitution, business large and small, and let's don't forget health care, NASA, etc., etc. He's going to tax us into oblivion and will be happy when he's reduced the United States to third world status. Obama practices pitting one group against the other, he practices hate and racism and fear. When you have the populace quivering with fear you can manipulate them. He is a dreadful finger-pointing whiner of a president and the polls show independents, blacks, whites are deserting him in droves.
I can see November from my house.
.
Just a tad hateful aren?t we?
Your lack of respect and integrity is showing. Do you want members to give any consideration to your posts?
I didn't think so .... except for the flaming value. :roll:
.
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Beach Fanatic
You can bash Obama all you want, but can you truthfully say that you think McCain would do a better job?Well, we'll never know will we? I hope you are happy with what you got because I'm not and every day it gets worse. I'll let you decide in the end as the consequences will definitely affect you more than they will me. One thing is for sure, though as I said we'll never know, McCain could have done no worse. No one could.
I sure as hell don't think he would have and voted accordingly.
Beach Fanatic
.In fairness, Rita, I have seen post just as vehement and scathing toward Bush and others on this forum many times. It is not just Sarawind who is beside herself with what is transpiring in this nation. It is many of us, who have seen good times and bad, and lived through them and we will these as well. But, never, in my many years, have I seen one individual so intent on destroying our individual liberties and freedom as this individual apparently is. If you don't see it, I fervently hope you do so before it is too late. Sarawind has created a rallying cry for many of us.
Just a tad hateful aren?t we?
Your lack of respect and integrity is showing. Do you want members to give any consideration to your posts?
I didn't think so .... except for the flaming value. :roll:
.
.
"I can see November from my house".
SoWal Insider
This is one of the main reason I did not for for the REPS. in Nov.
GOP leaders let demagogues set tone, lawmaker says
Defeated South Carolina Republican accuses GOP leaders of caving in to demagoguery
BEN EVANS
AP News
Jul 09, 2010 08:59 EDT
Too many Republican leaders are acquiescing to a poisonous "demagoguery" that threatens the party's long-term credibility, says a veteran GOP House member who was defeated in South Carolina's primary last month.
While not naming names, 12-year incumbent Rep. Bob Inglis suggested in interviews with The Associated Press that tea party favorites such as former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and right-wing talk show hosts like Glenn Beck are the culprits.
He cited a claim made famous by Palin that the Democratic health care bill would create "death panels" to decide whether elderly or sick people should get care.
"There were no death panels in the bill ... and to encourage that kind of fear is just the lowest form of political leadership. It's not leadership. It's demagoguery," said Inglis, one of three Republican incumbents who have lost their seats in Congress to primary and state party convention challengers this year.
Inglis said voters eventually will discover that you're "preying on their fears" and turn away.
"I think we have a lot of leaders that are following those (television and talk radio) personalities and not leading," he said. "What it takes to lead is to say, 'You know, that's just not right.'"
Inglis said the rhetoric also distracts from the real problems that politicians should be trying to resolve, such as budget deficits and energy security.
"It's a real concern, because I think what we're doing is dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni," he said, referring to the two predominant Islamic denominations that have feuded for centuries. "It's very difficult to come together to find solutions."
Inglis' refusal to join in on the Obama-bashing of the far right played a big role in his landslide defeat on June 22. Leading up to the election, he frequently challenged voters who questioned the president's citizenship or patriotism. At one town hall meeting, he was jeered for saying that Beck, a Fox News Channel host, is a divisive fearmonger.
In his primary runoff against prosecutor Trey Gowdy, Inglis failed to break 30 percent, an improbably low result for a sitting incumbent not embroiled in scandal.
Inglis said he was shocked during the health care votes as he watched protesters jeering Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who was beaten as a leading civil rights activist in the 1960s.
Inglis said he was too far away during the jeering incident to hear whether the protesters shouted racial epithets, as Lewis and other black lawmakers have claimed. But Inglis said the behavior was threatening and abusive.
"I caught him at the door and said, 'John, I guess you've been here before,'" Inglis said.
Inglis, 50, who calls himself a Jack Kemp disciple because he has emphasized outreach to minorities as the late Republican congressman did, thinks racism is a part of the vitriol directed at President Barack Obama.
"I love the South. I'm a Southerner. But I can feel it," he said.
Inglis was first elected in 1992 and left after six years to honor a term-limits pledge. But he won the seat again in 2004. He doesn't yet know what he'll do when he leaves Congress in January. He said it's unlikely he'll run for office again, but he didn't rule it out.
"It's hard to see how it works for me," he said. "But things change, and maybe something changes here."
Source: AP News
GOP leaders let demagogues set tone, lawmaker says
Defeated South Carolina Republican accuses GOP leaders of caving in to demagoguery
BEN EVANS
AP News
Jul 09, 2010 08:59 EDT
Too many Republican leaders are acquiescing to a poisonous "demagoguery" that threatens the party's long-term credibility, says a veteran GOP House member who was defeated in South Carolina's primary last month.
While not naming names, 12-year incumbent Rep. Bob Inglis suggested in interviews with The Associated Press that tea party favorites such as former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and right-wing talk show hosts like Glenn Beck are the culprits.
He cited a claim made famous by Palin that the Democratic health care bill would create "death panels" to decide whether elderly or sick people should get care.
"There were no death panels in the bill ... and to encourage that kind of fear is just the lowest form of political leadership. It's not leadership. It's demagoguery," said Inglis, one of three Republican incumbents who have lost their seats in Congress to primary and state party convention challengers this year.
Inglis said voters eventually will discover that you're "preying on their fears" and turn away.
"I think we have a lot of leaders that are following those (television and talk radio) personalities and not leading," he said. "What it takes to lead is to say, 'You know, that's just not right.'"
Inglis said the rhetoric also distracts from the real problems that politicians should be trying to resolve, such as budget deficits and energy security.
"It's a real concern, because I think what we're doing is dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni," he said, referring to the two predominant Islamic denominations that have feuded for centuries. "It's very difficult to come together to find solutions."
Inglis' refusal to join in on the Obama-bashing of the far right played a big role in his landslide defeat on June 22. Leading up to the election, he frequently challenged voters who questioned the president's citizenship or patriotism. At one town hall meeting, he was jeered for saying that Beck, a Fox News Channel host, is a divisive fearmonger.
In his primary runoff against prosecutor Trey Gowdy, Inglis failed to break 30 percent, an improbably low result for a sitting incumbent not embroiled in scandal.
Inglis said he was shocked during the health care votes as he watched protesters jeering Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who was beaten as a leading civil rights activist in the 1960s.
Inglis said he was too far away during the jeering incident to hear whether the protesters shouted racial epithets, as Lewis and other black lawmakers have claimed. But Inglis said the behavior was threatening and abusive.
"I caught him at the door and said, 'John, I guess you've been here before,'" Inglis said.
Inglis, 50, who calls himself a Jack Kemp disciple because he has emphasized outreach to minorities as the late Republican congressman did, thinks racism is a part of the vitriol directed at President Barack Obama.
"I love the South. I'm a Southerner. But I can feel it," he said.
Inglis was first elected in 1992 and left after six years to honor a term-limits pledge. But he won the seat again in 2004. He doesn't yet know what he'll do when he leaves Congress in January. He said it's unlikely he'll run for office again, but he didn't rule it out.
"It's hard to see how it works for me," he said. "But things change, and maybe something changes here."
Source: AP News
Beach Fanatic
We won't ever know how McCain would have served as president but I know that he loves this country and Obama loathes it. Obama and his thugs are working diligently tearing down The Constitution, business large and small,...
We all have different worldviews.
We should strive to disagree without being disagreeable.
I vehemently criticized the last president, but I never impugned his patriotism or his love of country.
It's very American to disagree w/ any president's policies--
it's not ok to impugn his patriotism. It's not ok to say the president wants the country to fail.
Beach Fanatic
You can bash Obama all you want, but can you truthfully say that you think McCain would do a better job?
I sure as hell don't think he would have and voted accordingly.
We will never know...all we DO KNOW is that our Country has a president that is trying to change it and not for the good... a president that has surrounded himself with questionable folks with agendas, a president who has made some really poor decisions because he lacks experience, has out right lied to the American people, and who has brought his Chicago THUG politics into the White House. We know all of the above for sure has happened since he took office...I for one would love to back step and take a chance on old McCain. I really believe we would be better off than we are now.
Edited
SoWal Expert
I hear a lot of general statements and talking points - aside from some comments Andy has posted previously and some tax discussions I have yet to hear anything specific.
Not saying I always agree 100% with what Obama is doing (mainly how he is doing it) but so far he hasn't done anything I find truly worrisome OR that was not explicitly stated as a goal while he was campaigning.
I do think he has had to readjust and compromise due to the realities of the office, but I think he is doing a good job with what he has to work with.
In case you haven't noticed, we had a huge deficit, massive unemployment, 2 expensive wars, and a recession WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE. He didn't cause it.
I completely agree that we need to stop spending so much money and reduce our deficit. I also hear you screaming whenever you might have to pay higher taxes, lose a benefit, or a pet program has funding cut. The government is either doing too much and regulating too much or isn't doing enough and isn't regulating enough. Everything is a Catch-22.
Please tell me SPECIFICALLY what you think Obama has done that is so wrong and HOW YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY. There's lots of criticism, but very little constructive criticism and actual knowledge of the issue.
Not saying I always agree 100% with what Obama is doing (mainly how he is doing it) but so far he hasn't done anything I find truly worrisome OR that was not explicitly stated as a goal while he was campaigning.
I do think he has had to readjust and compromise due to the realities of the office, but I think he is doing a good job with what he has to work with.
In case you haven't noticed, we had a huge deficit, massive unemployment, 2 expensive wars, and a recession WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE. He didn't cause it.
I completely agree that we need to stop spending so much money and reduce our deficit. I also hear you screaming whenever you might have to pay higher taxes, lose a benefit, or a pet program has funding cut. The government is either doing too much and regulating too much or isn't doing enough and isn't regulating enough. Everything is a Catch-22.
Please tell me SPECIFICALLY what you think Obama has done that is so wrong and HOW YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY. There's lots of criticism, but very little constructive criticism and actual knowledge of the issue.
Edited
Banned
Watch the news. Antiwar Republicans are coming out of the closet more and more now that they know it's politically safe to do so. McCain would be clenching his yellow teeth on his march through the gates of hell along with hordes of neocon zombies who think it's cool to pronounce it "nucular".
Beach Fanatic
In fairness, Rita, I have seen post just as vehement and scathing toward Bush and others on this forum many times. It is not just Sarawind who is beside herself with what is transpiring in this nation. It is many of us, who have seen good times and bad, and lived through them and we will these as well. But, never, in my many years, have I seen one individual so intent on destroying our individual liberties and freedom as this individual apparently is. If you don't see it, I fervently hope you do so before it is too late. Sarawind has created a rallying cry for many of us.
"I can see November from my house".
How less "free" are you right now than 2 years ago. I seem to be pretty darn free if you ask me!
Beach Fanatic
At least Obama can pronounce NUCLEAR!
Edited
Beach Fanatic
though i'd just use the comic sans type that has gotten much attention today. I've read its the type of 4th graders and grandmothers. Must be why I like it
back to this thread ., i haven't looked at it since monday, but now 200 post later its the same folks going back and forth about the same ......cut and paste any thread on politics from election year...add some newbie members and there you have it
carry on....
back to this thread ., i haven't looked at it since monday, but now 200 post later its the same folks going back and forth about the same ......cut and paste any thread on politics from election year...add some newbie members and there you have it
carry on....
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